The Future Of USPS: Twin Falls' Operation

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By
Michelle Bartlome

Twin Falls, Idaho ( KMVT-TV / KTWT-TV ) - The U.S. Postal Service has been losing money for years.

To stop these losses, the Postal Service began consolidating mail–processing facilities, cutting operating hours and shedding jobs.

With worry nationwide about their future, our local postmaster said we will adapt.

With four years as a USPS mail carrier under her belt, Stephanie Debeake is looking forward to the future.

"I would like to have this as a career. It's a great job to keep and to have,” said Stephanie DeBaeke, USPS Carrier.

DeBeake is one of 52 carriers in Twin Falls.

The Twin Falls Postmaster said that's less than before and more dark clouds may be on the horizon.

"As our business is changing, we are trying to become more efficient and we don't need the people," said John Wiest, Postmaster, Twin Falls.

Almost two years ago, mail processing in Twin Falls moved to Boise.

"Since the switch, we had to learn to adapt to how we do things. What's different is the way we run our operation. The employees need to be in the right place to get through workload done. It's more compact at certain points in the day. We had to adjust our employees to do that,” said Wiest.

100 to 150,000 letters are coming through Twin Falls every single day.

But, getting those letters to your mailbox may be delayed. The USPS is considering moving to a six–day package and five–day mail delivery.

This change will save $2 billion annually.

"Things change. It is very difficult to say. We will adapt as our needs change and our operation change. I see us being a smaller organization. As the needs change, we will adapt. But, we will still be around,” said Wiest.

Around for mail carriers like DeBeake to continue doing what they love.

Saturday mail delivery will continue for now. But, it's being proposed to stop after September 30.